I am the proud owner of a 1981 Chevy LUV Diesel. She's my tank, made it across the country a half dozen times, twice with a radiator with 100% calcification and guzzling 5 gallons of antifreeze to make the trip. Ole faithful herself. Gave her some PM and she never stopped a going. That is, untell... Unfortunately, when I sent her to live with my brother in law mechanic for some TLC rust-repair/body work, electrical rejuvination, and such the transmission was blown on the TOW. Le sigh. All she needed was a little LUV, and now she has been leaking oil in his back yard for 5 months with no adventure in sight. Now the time has finally come that he is taking on the project and to get her back on the road I need to buy a new tranny. Problem is he has been having a great difficulty locating said transmission in Dallas, searching high and low he has discovered that there are 3, count 'em 3 transmissions for Chevy LUV diesels, which honestly didn't surprise me after my laborious searches for radiators, and fan clutches. Anyone have a lead on where I can get one and/or the price? I was unsuccessful on the website listings here. Thanks.

I'm making a couple of assumptions here to fill in the blanks.1. It's 2wd.2. It's 5-speed.

If those are correct, you really ought to upgrade to a later transmission. You can get a transmission from an '86-'95 2.3L (4ZDE) Isuzu pickup, and use the diesel front-half of the case (we call it the bell housing, but it's really the entire front case) on the later-model gas transmission. It has stronger internal parts, and should outlast the truck. In my 9 years of scavenging, I've only run across one 5-speed diesel transmission. The gas ones are much more common, and are usually available at self-service yards for around $100. I've pulled several later-model gas transmissions, and I haven't even gotten every one that I've seen. The same transmission can also be found in the 2.3 gas Isuzu Amigo, and the '86-'89 Isuzu Impulse. Some of the Impulse transmissions have a higher 5th gear, which makes it quieter at highway speeds.

If you search for one of these, you have to make sure it's not from the 2.6. That's a completely different transmission. I checked the inventory at Pick-n-Pull for Isuzu Pickups within 20 miles of Dallas. There were two. I think you should be able to see the search results here. Keep in mind, these trucks could both have the wrong transmission. I doubt there's any way to know without checking it yourself.

Weird. His profile says he was back on the site today, but no reply. I even PM'ed him to try to get his attention. I'm pretty useless when it comes to 1st-gens and gassers, but I'll knock myself out for the diesel guys if it helps.

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